I just finished this book (listened to the audiobook) and I was cryinggg 😭😭😭 Thank you for this review! I agree, love this book. 🖤 This was my first of Grady Hendrix’s novels. Looking forward to reading more from him! It wasn’t what I was expecting at all, and I respected that. ❤
I absolutely loved this story. I found it to be the perfect mix of humor, heart and horror (which, if I remember correctly, was noted as such on the back cover of the book). This is the 4th Hendrix book I’ve read and he has yet to disappoint! So glad you enjoyed this as much as I did!
Picked this up at a Walmart when I was buying some milk and I really enjoyed this one! Tons of fun with some very chilling moments. I loved the turn into the final act with Louise coming home.
I loved every moment of that roller coaster ride. I was scared silly and was quite emotional at the end. In short: love your siblings and stay away from hand puppets.😎 And squirrels!
Finished it in 3 days, I could not put it down! I went into it completely blind, not knowing about the author or reading any of the reviews on the back. Such a great story! It was a wild ride haha. Soon as I finished it I checked out Final Girl and gave that one a go too. Really really liked it. Doing a couple non-fiction right now but have a couple other of his lined up on my nightstand now. Really love this author and I’m so glad I found him!
This book was a blast!! Definitely a new favorite of mine, and I can’t wait to read more Grady Hendrix. (I just purchased “My Best Friend’s Exorcism” so I’ll be reading that one soon.) Thanks again for the buddy read!!! So much fun! 😊
Grady Hendrix is another of my favourite newer authors. I listened to the audiobook of We Sold Our Souls, and the narrator was perfect. She had this raspy, Chrissy Hynde-Grace Slick quality to her voice. And of course, I TOTALLY related to the main character. Late 40s, best years behind her, working a soul-sucking pink collar night job...That one was a little TOO close to home! Luckily there aren't any deals with the devil in my past to confront! HAHAHAHA! I'll pick up How to Sell A Haunted House soon, too, because my apartment building is a) haunted, and b) up for sale. Let's see how much more of my life Grady Hendrix does better and more creatively!
Long time lurker here. Thanks for this review, Olly. I've just downloaded this book and so far I'm suitably impressed with the writing style. It does use dark humour very effectively and draws you quickly into the characters' lives, so you get another big thumbs up from me with this recommendation. Another author I think you should check out is Adam Howe who also uses dark humour to spin a yarn. I'd recommend starting with his short story: Gator Bait, and then the darkly twisted "Foreign Bodies" available to read in the "Year's Best Hardcore Horror Volume 3" anthology. If "Foreign Bodies" doesn't have you laughing out loud at the gore and its twisted absurdity, nothing will.
Thank you, both for the comment and the recommendation! Glad you're enjoying the Hendrix! You have commented before though haven't you? I recognise your avatar
Can't wait to read this. I read my best friends exorcism about 9 or 10 months ago and loved it. Everything I have ever read, seen or heard about hendrix is great.
Just finished the audiobook as well and loved it! The gore came out of left field and was great. I coincidentally was working on a project using a jigsaw when the saw scene happened and had to stop for a few minutes 😱🤣
This book was so funny. I laughed for days. Hendrix is so effective at identifying characteristics and cutely displaying them. It was so good that I forgot all about being middle aged and addicted to Coronation Street, and read it.
I loved this book so much that I love watching all these videos on what others thought also. Now that you mention it, I want to also listen to it to hear Kakawewe!!! I’ll be filming my thoughts on it this weekend
Lovely to hear your thoughts on this, Olly! Couldn’t agree more. Having only read the final girl support group prior, I didn’t expect much out of this (particularly in the scares department) so I was fabulously surprised by the TEETH this thing has! Those set pieces really were fantastically written and so gruesomely detailed. I do think it could have benefited from some cuts here and there, but overall just a really great read
This book was great. I'm kind of scared of puppets anyway, so those scenes horrified me even as I pictured them in my head, realized how absurd, laughed a little, and tipped my hat to Hendrix for pulling it all off seamlessly. There were lots of genuinely uncomfortable moments when I just had to put the book down for a while. Also, I was so sad for the family while being kind of repulsed by them at the same time. Just a great book. I communicated all this to Hendrix and he replied that my discomfort was his reward lol.
Okay, your passion for this one has definitely convinced me to give it a go! Good to know that the audiobook is good too, as that’s my preferred format. I’ve only read one Grady Hendrix before - Horrorstor - but didn’t particularly like it. I intended to give another of his a try and this sounds like a really fun read, much more up my street! 👍
There was a toss up at work due to the pandemic. People had adjust, and were looking to live cheaper until things got better. One guy at work found this great aparment. It had two bedrooms, and was an old Art Deco design, but it was going cheap, because it was a basement flat. So, the guy calls his friend to come see the place. He friend says, "I'm taking a mental health day." The best part of the apartment was when an older woman came over and said, "You won't stay. The place is haunted." So, my friend lost the place. He is angry ati his friend, and says, "It was a great place, and haunted too. We lost it because you were having a Mental Health day." They were both upset there was spooky older woman upstairs. The apartment had everything.
I'm so glad you enjoyed it Olly, I haven't picked up a copy yet but I've enjoyed all his other stuff immensely and will get the hardback soon, to go with the last two of his novels. I don't think Horrorstor and My Best Friends Exorcism hard hardbacks released. love my hardbacks!
@@CriminOllyBlog Yeah, I even loved The Final Girl Support Group which I know you didn't really get on with. Steeped in the slasher genre me, and I enjoyed some pretty obscure references in that. I enjoyed My Heart is a Chainsaw as well but I found that pretty grim reading, have you gotten round to Hex yet?
It's interesting to hear you say this because this is the first Grady Hendrix book that I didn't enjoy. It felt rushed, and got repetitive and bogged down in the middle. The actual horror parts were great - some of his best - but I was very glad to be done with the main character. Personally The Southern Book Club's Guide to Slaying Vampires eclipsed this in every way - but everyone is different!
I've been seeing so many negative reviews for this book (and particularly the audiobook) so it's great to hear about such a positive experience! I've only just cracked the "anger" section of the book so I can't wait to see where the plot goes from here and why opinions are so divided
@@CriminOllyBlog I really hope I fall into your camp! I think I'll put the blinders on until I finish the book for myself, though I couldn't help myself when I saw your title haha!
Here's my legit comment - just for you! 😉 Happy to hear your thoughts on this and that you enjoyed it so much. This is a book I've considered reading - I'm trying to read off my shelves though. Glad to hear it's a good one and I might try picking this up later this year. 😊💙
I have only read a few of his short stories, they didn't leave much of an impact even though they were featured in best of the year anthologies. I have always avoided his novels because I felt they had stupid titles. You have convinced me to give Grady a try!
Okay Olly again on your recommendation (usually pretty sound) I'm giving this a shot. My first Hendrix novel, I'm about a third of the way through and I'm getting that Stephen King 'Fairytale' vibe again - starts really well, exploring family relationships, grief, guilt, memory, etc but then it slides off the rails and seems to be following familiar horror tropes - but I'll keep with it and report back.
Right well I finished it last weekend and thoroughly enjoyed it, even though it did go completely off the rails bonkers at the end (albeit in very entertaining way!) I immediately gobbled up to Horrorstor followed by Southern Book Club's Guide … yep I'm hooked on Hendrix - you are such a bad influence Olly 😜!
I'm hanging out to read this! I have it on hold with the library but I'm sad that they don't have the audio version. I love audio because as you said, you can do all the housework etc while listening to a book! If you ever want to listen to a New Zealand supernatural suspense audiobook (read by a kiwi narrator), let me know and I'll flick you a code for it. (Butcherbird by Cassie Hart).
I've only read 1 Grady Hendrix book, My Best Friend's Exorcism, and I thought it was fine but pretty forgettable. I would like to try more of his stuff though and maybe this would be a good next attempt.
Do you think the book was written with commercial intent ? (eg. as you suggested, the potential for a franchise due to a particular character). I do worry about these types of books that's all. Hmmm 🤔🤔
Have you got a video about the scariest books you've ever read? I've looked and can't find it. That would be a great video! Or even if you could recommend one.
I read "The Southern Book Club's Guide to Slaying Vampires" from him, I DNFed it at 50% because I could not take more of the characters stupidity. I read the sample and was happy about it, then as I progressed trough the book I encountered good horror scenes, only to be shot in the face with extreme stupidity. I could not take it anymore. It had superb potential, Fright Night vibes, some detective work, but it was not enough to save it for me,
I feel the same way about “How to sell a haunted house”, the first chapters were excellent but then it got stupid and boring. This was my first book from the author and it was a huge disappointment.
2 ways: people who are subscribed to the upper two tiers of my Patreon get to pick one book a quarter for me to pluck off the shelves and discuss. Apart from that it's just whatever takes me fancy
OK, I'm going to take your recommendation. Before I read this, tell me two of the people you'd choose to play the part of the fantastic horror character 'in the movie.' I'd like to see if I agree after I read the book. Thanks. 🙂
@CriminOllyBlog I'm working on a book franchise about alien cats dominating the world and realizing that world domination is... well, boring. I know the whole premise is what everyone expects: it's about cats planning world domination, but I am adding a little flavor to it. It's in the cats' point of view, so it should be interesting to see the world in a cat's eyes.
@@CriminOllyBlog yep thats half the fun! Looking at all the range of opinion and seeing others find something i missed. Even with a book i dont like i still enjoy the critical conversation. Gosbts!
Just read it. It was well worth the read, but I don't think I would be able to listen to the audio version, I would never be able to turn the lights off again 🫣
I absolutely adored How To Sell A Haunted House. I wish I could read it for the first time again.
Kakawewe! So happy you enjoyed this one! This is my favorite Hendrix so far! 👻
Mine too I think!
I loved this book! The audiobook was so much fun! Kakawewe. 😂
It really was a fun way to experience the story
I just finished this book (listened to the audiobook) and I was cryinggg 😭😭😭 Thank you for this review! I agree, love this book. 🖤 This was my first of Grady Hendrix’s novels. Looking forward to reading more from him! It wasn’t what I was expecting at all, and I respected that. ❤
Fantastic! So glad you enjoyed it!
I absolutely loved this story. I found it to be the perfect mix of humor, heart and horror (which, if I remember correctly, was noted as such on the back cover of the book). This is the 4th Hendrix book I’ve read and he has yet to disappoint! So glad you enjoyed this as much as I did!
I really did have a great time with it. That 3 H's assessment seems spot on!
I must see if my local library has this book in. Thank you once again, CriminOlly :)
My pleasure, hope you enjoy it
So glad to hear you liked this one. Hendrix has been hit and miss for me, but he's always a must read.
Yeah, I've had at least one miss from him, but this was a big hit
Grady Hendrix has a special place in my heart he really does campy horror right. I often describe his book as Goosebumps for adults
That’s a great way of describing it! I’ve only read this book by him, but yeah, that’s how I would describe it 🤣👍🏻
Picked this up at a Walmart when I was buying some milk and I really enjoyed this one! Tons of fun with some very chilling moments. I loved the turn into the final act with Louise coming home.
I loved every moment of that roller coaster ride. I was scared silly and was quite emotional at the end. In short: love your siblings and stay away from hand puppets.😎 And squirrels!
Yeah those squirrels!!!
Finished it in 3 days, I could not put it down! I went into it completely blind, not knowing about the author or reading any of the reviews on the back. Such a great story! It was a wild ride haha. Soon as I finished it I checked out Final Girl and gave that one a go too. Really really liked it. Doing a couple non-fiction right now but have a couple other of his lined up on my nightstand now. Really love this author and I’m so glad I found him!
Glad you enjoyed it! Hope you like the others too, he's pretty consistently good
Halfway through you video and I just put this one on hold at my library. Cant’ wait to read it!
Hope you enjoy it!
This book was a blast!! Definitely a new favorite of mine, and I can’t wait to read more Grady Hendrix. (I just purchased “My Best Friend’s Exorcism” so I’ll be reading that one soon.) Thanks again for the buddy read!!! So much fun! 😊
I really enjoyed that book.
I had such a great time reading it with you. Thanks so much for suggesting it !
Oooo!! Honestly just hearing your intro I stopped the video because I’m absolutely sold. Heading to the bookstore to buy it now!!
Hope you enjoy it!
Grady Hendrix is another of my favourite newer authors. I listened to the audiobook of We Sold Our Souls, and the narrator was perfect. She had this raspy, Chrissy Hynde-Grace Slick quality to her voice. And of course, I TOTALLY related to the main character. Late 40s, best years behind her, working a soul-sucking pink collar night job...That one was a little TOO close to home! Luckily there aren't any deals with the devil in my past to confront! HAHAHAHA! I'll pick up How to Sell A Haunted House soon, too, because my apartment building is a) haunted, and b) up for sale. Let's see how much more of my life Grady Hendrix does better and more creatively!
Hi Olly, I've just picked this one up for the Kindle. Thanks for the review, it sounds awesome.
Hope you enjoy it!
I definitely loved HTSAHH, and, fine, you've now forced me to push We Sold Our Souls further up in my TBR stack.
Hope you enjoy it!
Long time lurker here. Thanks for this review, Olly. I've just downloaded this book and so far I'm suitably impressed with the writing style. It does use dark humour very effectively and draws you quickly into the characters' lives, so you get another big thumbs up from me with this recommendation. Another author I think you should check out is Adam Howe who also uses dark humour to spin a yarn. I'd recommend starting with his short story: Gator Bait, and then the darkly twisted "Foreign Bodies" available to read in the "Year's Best Hardcore Horror Volume 3" anthology. If "Foreign Bodies" doesn't have you laughing out loud at the gore and its twisted absurdity, nothing will.
Thank you, both for the comment and the recommendation! Glad you're enjoying the Hendrix!
You have commented before though haven't you? I recognise your avatar
I'm from South Carolina, so I will have to give it a try . The creepy puppet angle of it sounds good.
It's really fun
Can't wait to read this. I read my best friends exorcism about 9 or 10 months ago and loved it. Everything I have ever read, seen or heard about hendrix is great.
Yeah he's really good. I'm sure you'll love this when you get to it!
Oh good grief! Your enthusiasm is so infectious for this, now I'm going to have to read. 🤭 Thanks?
Ha! Hope you enjoy it
@@CriminOllyBlog I fully expect to given your review☺️
I am SUPER excited for this one! I've been half and half with Hendrix, but when I like his stuff I REALLY like his stuff.
Just finished this last week! Thoroughly enjoyed it! 📖
So much fun!
Great timing, I just started this one yesterday 😁
I really enjoyed this book. It was scary, funny and as you said surprisingly moving. Pupkin and Spider will haunt me for a long time.
I know - they're really great characters!
I just got this at my local library so I'm looking forward to reading this in the next few days
Just finished the audiobook as well and loved it! The gore came out of left field and was great. I coincidentally was working on a project using a jigsaw when the saw scene happened and had to stop for a few minutes 😱🤣
ahahah OMG yeah I can see that scene putting you off that project
LOVE GRADY HENDRIX!!!! Can’t wait to read this one!!!
It's so much fun!
This book was so funny. I laughed for days. Hendrix is so effective at identifying characteristics and cutely displaying them. It was so good that I forgot all about being middle aged and addicted to Coronation Street, and read it.
Ha! those are both good things for a book to make you forget about. Glad you enjoyed it!
I’m almost done with this book, and I found myself laughing out loud one moment and biting my nails the next. I’m really enjoying it.
It's so much fun!
I loved this book so much that I love watching all these videos on what others thought also. Now that you mention it, I want to also listen to it to hear Kakawewe!!! I’ll be filming my thoughts on it this weekend
Cool! I'll look out for your video!
Lovely to hear your thoughts on this, Olly! Couldn’t agree more. Having only read the final girl support group prior, I didn’t expect much out of this (particularly in the scares department) so I was fabulously surprised by the TEETH this thing has! Those set pieces really were fantastically written and so gruesomely detailed. I do think it could have benefited from some cuts here and there, but overall just a really great read
Glad you enjoyed it too! And yeah those set pieces were amazing
This book was great. I'm kind of scared of puppets anyway, so those scenes horrified me even as I pictured them in my head, realized how absurd, laughed a little, and tipped my hat to Hendrix for pulling it all off seamlessly. There were lots of genuinely uncomfortable moments when I just had to put the book down for a while. Also, I was so sad for the family while being kind of repulsed by them at the same time. Just a great book. I communicated all this to Hendrix and he replied that my discomfort was his reward lol.
Read it, loved it, gave it five stars. It's Hendrix at his best. However, We Sold Our Souls remains my fav by Hendrix. 😊
Yep agreed!
Okay, your passion for this one has definitely convinced me to give it a go! Good to know that the audiobook is good too, as that’s my preferred format. I’ve only read one Grady Hendrix before - Horrorstor - but didn’t particularly like it. I intended to give another of his a try and this sounds like a really fun read, much more up my street! 👍
There was a toss up at work due to the pandemic. People had adjust, and were looking to live cheaper until things got better. One guy at work found this great aparment. It had two bedrooms, and was an old Art Deco design, but it was going cheap, because it was a basement flat. So, the guy calls his friend to come see the place. He friend says, "I'm taking a mental health day." The best part of the apartment was when an older woman came over and said, "You won't stay. The place is haunted." So, my friend lost the place. He is angry ati his friend, and says, "It was a great place, and haunted too. We lost it because you were having a Mental Health day." They were both upset there was spooky older woman upstairs. The apartment had everything.
That does sound like it would be an interesting place to live!
I'm so glad you enjoyed it Olly, I haven't picked up a copy yet but I've enjoyed all his other stuff immensely and will get the hardback soon, to go with the last two of his novels. I don't think Horrorstor and My Best Friends Exorcism hard hardbacks released. love my hardbacks!
If you like his work I'm very confident you'll enjoy this
@@CriminOllyBlog Yeah, I even loved The Final Girl Support Group which I know you didn't really get on with. Steeped in the slasher genre me, and I enjoyed some pretty obscure references in that. I enjoyed My Heart is a Chainsaw as well but I found that pretty grim reading, have you gotten round to Hex yet?
@@Paul_Bond. yeah I liked Hex, but I didn’t love it
It's interesting to hear you say this because this is the first Grady Hendrix book that I didn't enjoy. It felt rushed, and got repetitive and bogged down in the middle. The actual horror parts were great - some of his best - but I was very glad to be done with the main character. Personally The Southern Book Club's Guide to Slaying Vampires eclipsed this in every way - but everyone is different!
Oh it sounds so good. I need to prioritize getting to it soon.
You do - I think you'll love it!
I've been seeing so many negative reviews for this book (and particularly the audiobook) so it's great to hear about such a positive experience! I've only just cracked the "anger" section of the book so I can't wait to see where the plot goes from here and why opinions are so divided
I thought it was a really great time - I don't get why people wouldn't enjoy it, but everyone is different I guess!
@@CriminOllyBlog I really hope I fall into your camp! I think I'll put the blinders on until I finish the book for myself, though I couldn't help myself when I saw your title haha!
Here's my legit comment - just for you! 😉 Happy to hear your thoughts on this and that you enjoyed it so much. This is a book I've considered reading - I'm trying to read off my shelves though. Glad to hear it's a good one and I might try picking this up later this year. 😊💙
LOL thanks Jolene - I think you'd enjoy this a lot if you do get round to it
Glad to learn of thus author! Thanks.
Well worth checking out!
You have to check out his podcast Super Scary Haunted Home School. His riffs on Carmilla and the biblical story of Lilith had me legitimately 😂
Oh I didn't know he'd done that! Just found it on Spotify so will give it a listen
Definitely on my tbr thank you
Hope you enjoy it!
@@CriminOllyBlog me too 🤷♂️👍
I gotta buy that one and the Paperbacks From Hell as well by that author .
I still haven't read Paperbacks from Hell!
Skint at the moment, but have had to take the plunge and purchase this book, based on your review 👍
I hope you enjoy it Kerry!
Thanks for not disappearing, Pae and thanks for the poem. 😊💙
I think you might have done that thing where a comment goes on the last video you watched rather than the one you meant to leave it on. Hello, though!
@@CriminOllyBlog I think you’re right! Thanks Olly! Good to chat with you too though. 💙
I have only read a few of his short stories, they didn't leave much of an impact even though they were featured in best of the year anthologies. I have always avoided his novels because I felt they had stupid titles. You have convinced me to give Grady a try!
He's not the most serious or deep of horror authors, but his work is a lot of fun.
Sometimes fun is all you're looking for!
Okay Olly again on your recommendation (usually pretty sound) I'm giving this a shot. My first Hendrix novel, I'm about a third of the way through and I'm getting that Stephen King 'Fairytale' vibe again - starts really well, exploring family relationships, grief, guilt, memory, etc but then it slides off the rails and seems to be following familiar horror tropes - but I'll keep with it and report back.
Right well I finished it last weekend and thoroughly enjoyed it, even though it did go completely off the rails bonkers at the end (albeit in
very entertaining way!) I immediately gobbled up to Horrorstor followed by Southern Book Club's Guide … yep I'm hooked on Hendrix - you are such a bad influence Olly 😜!
I'm hanging out to read this! I have it on hold with the library but I'm sad that they don't have the audio version. I love audio because as you said, you can do all the housework etc while listening to a book! If you ever want to listen to a New Zealand supernatural suspense audiobook (read by a kiwi narrator), let me know and I'll flick you a code for it. (Butcherbird by Cassie Hart).
100%! Email me a code and I'll listen to it. Can't guarantee how quickly it will be though (probably May or June)
I just read House of leaves. Dear God what a nightmare. It took me a week to get used to reading normal books again
Ha! yeah it's quite an experience
I've only read 1 Grady Hendrix book, My Best Friend's Exorcism, and I thought it was fine but pretty forgettable. I would like to try more of his stuff though and maybe this would be a good next attempt.
It's definitely worth a try, although I would say the tone and at style are quite similar to MBFE
I pictured this becoming a Tim Burton film for some reason
I can see that!
Do you think the book was written with commercial intent ? (eg. as you suggested, the potential for a franchise due to a particular character). I do worry about these types of books that's all. Hmmm 🤔🤔
No, I don't think it's as calculated as that. It's just a really fun book
Have you got a video about the scariest books you've ever read? I've looked and can't find it. That would be a great video! Or even if you could recommend one.
I haven't done one yet, but I might soon!
@@CriminOllyBlog perfect. Thanks!
I read "The Southern Book Club's Guide to Slaying Vampires" from him, I DNFed it at 50% because I could not take more of the characters stupidity. I read the sample and was happy about it, then as I progressed trough the book I encountered good horror scenes, only to be shot in the face with extreme stupidity. I could not take it anymore. It had superb potential, Fright Night vibes, some detective work, but it was not enough to save it for me,
That's one of the few books by him I haven't tried yet
I feel the same way about “How to sell a haunted house”, the first chapters were excellent but then it got stupid and boring. This was my first book from the author and it was a huge disappointment.
@@LluviadeOrugas Sorry to hear that
I really want to read this one 🤗
It's so much fun
It seems like everyone is reading this book right now!
Yep, it's definitely popular!
How do you pick random books from the shelves?
2 ways: people who are subscribed to the upper two tiers of my Patreon get to pick one book a quarter for me to pluck off the shelves and discuss. Apart from that it's just whatever takes me fancy
OK, I'm going to take your recommendation. Before I read this, tell me two of the people you'd choose to play the part of the fantastic horror character 'in the movie.' I'd like to see if I agree after I read the book. Thanks. 🙂
That's hard to do! When you've read the book you'll understand why! But to throw one possibility out: Mark Hammill
@CriminOllyBlog I'm working on a book franchise about alien cats dominating the world and realizing that world domination is... well, boring.
I know the whole premise is what everyone expects: it's about cats planning world domination, but I am adding a little flavor to it. It's in the cats' point of view, so it should be interesting to see the world in a cat's eyes.
That does sound fun
Another book on my TBR list. Very convincing
Sorry to poop the party but i thought it was awful. Tired tropes, unlikeable annoying characters, nothing scary, i had to DNF at halfway.
Books are different for everyone, sorry you didn’t enjoy it more (and hello from just down the road from Brighton)
@@CriminOllyBlog yep thats half the fun! Looking at all the range of opinion and seeing others find something i missed. Even with a book i dont like i still enjoy the critical conversation. Gosbts!
Just read it. It was well worth the read, but I don't think I would be able to listen to the audio version, I would never be able to turn the lights off again 🫣